This invention pertains to a toy horse supported on wheels for purposes of pulling the horse along a surface to produce a sound which very closely imitates that of a trotting horse, especially a horse trotting on a hard surface.
The manufacture of various kinds of toys supported on wheels and producing either musical or other types of sounds when pulled along a surface has occurred for many years. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 233,628, by Kyser et al, dated Oct. 26, 1880, shows a bell-type musical toy supported by wheels and the arms of the toy strike the bell on the body of the toy. Another sounding toy, including men striking an anvil with hammers, comprises the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 874,134 to Stubert, dated Dec. 17, 1907. Several more recent U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,259,629 to Fisher, dated Oct. 21, 1941, and 2,679,126 to Doe et al, dated May 25, 1954, show pull-type toys having rotatable wheels actuating striking members which hit a sounding board.
Still other toys resembling animals supported on rotatable wheels operate the legs and/or pivot the head in somewhat natural movement when pulled along a surface, the legs being operated by cranks on the wheels. Typical of these toys are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,829,680 to Schelle et al, dated Oct. 27, 1931; 2,180,623 to Allen, dated Nov. 21, 1939; and 2,266,118 to Greenman, dated Dec. 16, 1941.
Another group of patents of interest to the present invention comprise U.S. Pat. No. 2,281,757 to Fisher, dated May 5, 1942 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,755 to Pouder, dated June 14, 1960, in which pull-type toys supported on wheels include drop-off type rotatable cams or the like which operate leaf springs to produce a clacking noise. In the Fisher patent, the rotatable front wheel also operates the jaw of the toy duck, while in the Pouder patent, a horse's head is mounted on a stick and the patent states that the toy makes a sound resembling a galloping horse, there being a pair of leaf spring members operated by separate cams rotated by the wheels on the toy.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,072 to Crawford et al, dated May 9, 1961 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,088,243 to Giardina, dated May 7, 1963 respectively show noise-producing means and, in addition, the Crawford et al patent oscillates the head of the dog-type toy, while the legs of the toy in the Giardina patent are moved to resemble somewhat normal movements, in addition to clicking a leaf spring which is vibrated by an interrupted gear, rotated by the front wheels on the toy.
The principal purpose of the present invention is to provide a pull-type toy appealable to young children and safe to use which resembles a horse and in addition to producing somewhat natural movements of the legs and bobbing the head as the toy is pulled along a supporting surface, a somewhat sophisticated type noise-producing unit simulates a relatively true sound of a trotting horse, especially a horse trotting on a hard surface, such as macadam or cement, details of the same being described hereinafter.